– emily vardy: yoga blog, classes, love

The more I teach, the more I wish I could quit my “real job” and be a full-time yogi.

I read about girls like Rachel Brathen, who just started out teaching yoga to a few hippies on the beach and is now an internationally famous yogi. She had to start small, too – I’m sure at some point she had a crappy fast-food-type job and never dreamed she’d be where she is today. At some point she just had to decide that this is what she wanted to do with her life, make some tough decisions, take some risks, and work for it.

So what’s stopping me? Well, aside from the fear of financial instability, nothing, really. I could pick up any day, book a flight, and take off to some beach to spend my days teaching yoga. Unfortunately, that fear is a pretty big factor. Right now, without a regular income, I know I’d be far too stressed to ever be the soothing, competent teacher I’d like to be. Right now, it’s too big a risk.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t take baby steps. I don’t have to dive, headfirst, into the ever-growing pool of yoga teachers trying to make it work. Like Rachel, I’m starting small – teaching small classes in my little studio, learning as I go. And slowly but surely, those small classes are growing. I used to have nights I’d end up locking the doors to the yoga studio and going home again, after no one had turned up for my class. Lately, I have a solid group of about six or seven that come faithfully, as well as a handful of drop-ins. Baby steps!

Baby steps, gradually growing to…toddler steps? I don’t have the details all worked out yet, but the next step in my yoga journey feels like a bigger one. If all goes well, I’m planning on going away next fall and doing the training to earn my 200-hour teaching certification. It’s a huge investment – in terms of money, time, and effort – , and I know it won’t be a restful, relaxing vacay. But it’s what I want, and I’m willing to work for it.

With enough determination and hard work, I can make it happen, someday.

I think, with enough determination and hard work, we can make anything happen. Within reason, I mean – you can hustle and work and wish as much as you like, and you’re still probably not going to sprout wings and fly. Let’s keep it a little realistic here, at least.

As far as life experiences and goals go, however, the sky actually is the limit. If you want something bad enough, and you’re willing to work for it, there’s not much that falls under the “impossible” category.

My mom and my aunt and I were talking about bucket lists the other day, and we came to the same kind of consensus. If you want something bad enough, you can make it happen. Neither of us really had a bucket list – because if we wanted to do something, we did it. It might take some time, and some hard work, but if we wanted something enough to deem it “bucket-list-worthy”, we put in that time and work and made it happen. There’s no sense in saying “oh, it’ll happen someday” and then just waiting for the universe to do the heavy lifting for you. You’ve got to go after the things you want in life! With the exception of India, (which I’m convinced has some greater reason for not working out), if I’ve set my mind to do something, I’ve done it. Thanks, stubbornness.

And the thing is, there’s nothing *special* about me that gives me that superpower. I think anyone can harness that power, if they want to. If there’s something you want to do or be or change – make it happen! Take the risks, put in the work, stick to the commitment, and there’s not much you can’t achieve.

If this post is getting a little too cheerleader-y, you-can-do-it-y for you, #sorrynotsorry. Sometimes you need that push. Don’t just sit around waiting for miracles – get off your butt and go make them happen!

One thought on “make it happen”

Thank you! This post is exactly what I needed to hear right now 🙂 I’ve been feeling very stuck in my career and not sure how to get to a place where I’m doing something I enjoy. But now’s the time to figure that out!